Showing You The Way
by restive nature
Summary: Standalone. Alec finally gets a clue as to how to clue Max in.


Showing You The Way

Restive Nature (aka Bavite)

Rating: PG for minor language.

Disclaimer: I own nothing! Not Dark Angel, not my house, not my car, nuthin!

And the song, "Show Me The Way To Your Heart" by Sara Evans, well darn, don't own that either!

Timeline: General late Season Two-ish

Summary: Alec finally gets a clue as to how to clue Max in.

Max hummed under her breath merrily as she finally attended the chore of folding her clothes. She'd used her seldomly free Saturday night to haul her clothes to the Laundromat. It made quite the difference from washing them in the bathtub as she and Cindy normally did. But she'd wanted to be able to take a bath later that night and not be surrounded by the scent of detergent and bleach. It wasn't all that bad, but for her sensitive nose, it could be overpowering at times.

She smiled even further as she separated some socks into pairs. Yesterday afternoon had been the first time she'd seen Logan since their last official "break-up". She'd kept her distance to the best of her ability. At first she'd been miserable. That was normal. At least these past few months. She felt as if she had been born miserable. But eventually she'd begun to shed that persona and thanks to the help of her friends, had started to rediscover how to have fun. It had started with Original Cindy. Nagging her to death about having a girl's night out. It had been a blast. And then when she perked up the next evening and suggested Crash, Sketchy and Alec had been there to tease her and keep things lighthearted. And pretty soon, she'd found herself moping less over the state of things with Logan and accepting that sometimes life sucked. But it was up to her to make the best of her life. Which she hadn't been doing.

The turning point was really the conversation she'd had with Alec over a beer a few nights ago. She'd been pissed when he first brought it up, but once she'd gone home and ran the conversation through her head…well what he'd said made sense.

_'It's all well and good to love someone Maxie,' _he'd said. _'Just don't obsess over it. That's really not attractive.'_

She'd smacked him, of course. But not as hard as she normally did. Maybe she'd realized even then that he did have a point. Everything out of her mouth lately had been 'Logan this, virus that' and it did get old pretty quick. So after thinking things through, she'd decided yesterday to talk to Logan about it. She needed to know that he was on the same page as her. If they could leave all that they had been to each other behind and find themselves a new path. And when she'd arrived at his apartment, she'd been a little apprehensive. The light of hope was still in his eyes. But aside from a few hints, he had to admit that she looked happier. He was almost jealous until she explained that the happiness wasn't coming from being away from him per se. It was more the stress on her was less because she wasn't thinking of how crappy her life was every second of the day.

She noted too that the same could be said of him. And he admitted that he'd been throwing himself into Eyes Only even more. Not just looking into the transgenic/ Familiar stuff. But getting caught up on what the other crooks in the city were into. And he'd softly admitted that he was thinking about them less as well. She'd come away from that conversation with a reaffirmation of the friendship they'd once had, the promise to keep looking into the virus and it's cure even if it led nowhere… and Logan's old portable Discman. She'd mentioned that she was doing her laundry that night and he'd commiserated over being stuck by herself with nothing to entertain her. So he'd pulled out the machine and some old CD's for her to borrow.

Even now, she turned up the volume a little louder as she continued folding the socks and replacing them in the empty basket. She'd listened to all the discs last night and was now going through her favorites again. She'd been surprised to see an old country singer in the mix. But after listening to the woman, Max had to admit that she had an all right set of pipes. And some of the songs were good. None of that twang that made her teeth grate and her hackles rise. She sighed and began to sing along with one song that was quickly becoming a favorite.

Alec parked his bike close to Max's building, bending over to make sure that he wound the chain as tightly as possible. The bike wasn't his only means of transportation, but that didn't mean he wanted to lose it. He ducked under the broken chain link fence and stepped eagerly into the abandoned apartment complex. He just wanted to check that Max was okay.

The evening before, he'd expected her to show up at Crash with her roommate. Just like she'd been doing for the last week or so. But she hadn't. Cindy had blown him and Sketch off with the excuse that Max was doing her laundry. If it had been any night of the week but Saturday, he might have believed her. But when he'd wormed it from Original Cindy that Max had been to see Logan that afternoon, he saw it for what it was. An excuse for Max to sit at home, licking her wounds.

Well, he wouldn't have it. He'd grown too used to having a happier Max around. If nothing else, it certainly saved all the wear and tear she put him through, using him as a personal punching bag. But he was man enough to admit, if only to himself that he'd more than like this side of her. She was softer than usual, her smiles coming a little more often. And when they were directed his way, Alec felt his heart melt just that little bit more. He hid it well, but she was on his mind constantly. Had been ever since he'd first been assigned to be her breeding partner. The one girl he couldn't have. The one that had gotten away. And he wanted her more every day. But knowing how she felt about Logan, or purported to feel, he didn't ever give voice to those yearnings. He stayed her friend, her protector and back-up in the night and all around guy to blame when life sucked harder than usual.

As he walked down the hall towards her apartment, Alec was slightly puzzled to hear someone singing. As he got closer to her door, he realized that it could only be Max. Original Cindy had found a honey the evening before and called Max to tell her she wouldn't be home. He was surprised, in a way. Not about O.C. and her honey, but Max…. was singing? Sure she had a good voice. It was something bred into her, along with her good looks and cat-like reflexes. It was bred into all X-5's. But never before had Alec heard Max sing. This was big. Max never sang. Alec couldn't help standing at the door, staring into nothingness as he tried to absorb it. Eventually the words began to worm into his consciousness.

__

I've been trying to break down your walls

But I don't know how to get through

You say that you want me

Say that you need me

Baby I need more from you

Alec grinned, his hand coming up to trace an absent pattern on the wooden door of her home. Something about that stanza felt right and familiar. Oh, he recognized the song. He'd heard it a few times on an oldie station when he'd been out tooling around in his old convertible he'd picked up when he lacked anything better to do. But hearing Max singing it gave it an entirely new meaning.

__

You gotta take my hand and

Lead me to where you are

You know I'll follow

Just show me the way to your heart

If he really pushed it, he could let himself go and imagine that she was singing the song for him alone. But that probably wasn't the case. He sighed heavily, wondering how depressed she must be. What Logan had said and done to her to make her actually let go of the tough chic exterior to the point that she was trying to sing out her blues.

__

I know it's hard for you to trust again

You just got to believe

I will never lie to you

I will never hurt you

Baby I'm asking please

'God Maxie, I wish that were the truth,' he thought sadly. It was true. It was tough for him to trust again. Especially where his heart was concerned. It didn't take much for him to cultivate the suave Smart Alec who loved 'em and left 'em. It was a matter of survival some nights. Nights when he would have broken down completely for fear that the love he'd shared with Rachel was all he'd ever know. 'Ask me in Maxie, please.' But even as he thought it, he knew it wouldn't happen.

__

You gotta take my hand and

Lead me to where you are

You know I'll follow

Just show me the way to your heart

Decided, Alec picked the flimsy lock, the only physical barrier standing in his way. He slipped inside, shutting the door behind him as softly as he could. But he shouldn't have worried. She was wearing headphones, totally caught up in the music.

__

You think you've locked your heart away

But baby I hold the key

He watched, entranced her back to him as her hips swayed gently in time to the beat. Her hands were busy, doing something. Alec cocked his head to the side to see what it was.

__

Believe me when I say

Were those…socks? Alec's eyes widened imperceptibly. She was folding clothes. She really had been doing laundry? She hadn't been moping over Logan? He caught just a glimpse of the lovely enigmatic smile she wore as she flipped her hair over her shoulder and reached for more clothes. He unconsciously took a step forward just as she threw the last pair of socks in the basket and gathered it up.

__

My love can set you free

Max turned, still singing and was confronted with the unexpected sight of her friend staring at her. "Eeek!" her voice broke on the last note as she dropped the basket. She automatically knelt down to pick up the few items that had bounced out on impact while she swore under her breath. "Damn Alec! You startled me. What the hell were you thinking?"

But if he responded, she certainly didn't hear it. But she did feel the hand that reached down to take hold of hers. Alec drew her up off her knees and with a pleading look upon his face, placed her hand on his chest. She frowned at him, wondering what the hell had gotten into him.

"Alec what are you doing?" she demanded. His lips didn't move. He leaned forward a little, reaching for her waist. Max tried to pull away from him, but he stubbornly held on. His finger rested lightly on the volume dial of the Discman; pushing it higher and the music began to reverberate in her ears.

__

Take my hand and

Lead me to where you are

You know I'll follow

Just show me the way to your heart

Take my hand and

Lead me to where you are, baby

You know I'll follow

Just show me the way to your heart

Max stared at him as the words poured through her. What did he want? Was this another little joke on his part to try and cheer her up? Or something else? She tried to read his face, but it was shuttered in that damnable Manticore mask that she'd always deplored. But his eyes. Oh his eyes were needy, longing, telling her…

"Oh," she murmured softly, finally understanding. He'd heard her sing. Heard the song. And it meant something to him. And now he was asking if it meant anything to her.

"Yeah, oh," he smiled a partial, crooked smile. And then he waited; near breathless as Max did something she hadn't done in a long time. She let go. Let go of worrying, let go of thinking of the consequences. Let go of worrying what others might think. She let herself feel. With shaking fingers, she reached down for the hand dangling at his side, drawing it up to her face. She brought the palm to her face, whispering a gentle kiss across the tender flesh, then pressed it against her heart, as hers was on his.

The smile flashed into a full-fledged grin of relief as Alec stepped in closer. He could see the clarity of her decision in her eyes and knew that the chance he had taken had paid off. He tilted his chin down slowly, careful not to scare her off. Now that the moment was at hand, he wanted to run with it. Sure, nothing might come of it, but he wasn't going to be a fool and waste away what could be the best thing ever in his life.

Max met his lips hesitantly, letting the butterfly like kiss brush against her lips. The sweet tenderness enveloped her and she sighed happily. She pulled away and grinned up at him. Maybe she didn't need to worry about finding a new path after all. Maybe she was already on it.

"So?" Alec asked, his voice slightly husky. He glanced down at the basket that had unknowingly knocked out of the way, once again spilling out the socks. "Need any help folding that laundry?"

"Always!"


End file.
